If you want to get stronger, you have to start by lifting an amount of weight that’s hard but doable. Then, you can gradually increase the weight over time to build strength.

This same idea applies to earning money. If you’ve never made much, start with an idea that’s easy. Then, slowly increase the level of difficulty as your skills improve. The more your skills improve, the more you can make.

This is where money making apps come into play — they’re a great way to improve your money making skills. You won’t get rich, but you can earn some spending money and start building that financial muscle.

To get started, here are the highest-rated money making apps available for iOS and Android.

In an effort to only include the best money making apps, this list only includes options with a minimum of a 4/5 rating on the Apple or Google Play app stores.

Legit Money Making Apps

Get paid for sharing your opinion

One popular way to make money from your smartphone is by taking surveys.

To get started, just download one of the many great survey apps that are available free of charge. When a survey is available for you to complete, you’ll get a notification. After you take the survey, you’ll get paid.

For example, here’s a survey opportunity that was recently sent to me:

Honestly, this offer is better than most. You won’t always be able to make $50 for 10 to 15 minutes of work (that’s around $200 per hour!). But every now and then you’ll see great opportunities like this.

Interested? Here are the best survey apps for making money:

#1) Swagbucks

Swagbucks is a reader favorite — and for good reason. There are a number of simple tasks you can do to make money on Swagbucks, including taking surveys, watching videos, and playing games. It’s one of the most popular survey and rewards apps, having already paid out over $300 million to its members.

#1) Ebates

Ebates is one of the highest-rated cash back apps for both iOS and Android. With Ebates, you can earn up to 40 percent cash back when you shop at over 2,500 stores (both in-store and online).

When you shop online, Ebates shares its referral commission with you any time you make a purchase through the provided link.

To make money with in-store purchases you have to link your card inside the Ebates app. Then, you’ll automatically earn cash back every time you shop at participating stores. You don’t even have to tell the salesperson when checking out.

You’ll get a check from Ebates once per quarter with your cash-back balance.

#4) ShopKick

ShopKick is one of the highest-rated apps in the “money” category. It rewards you for visiting stores, and in some cases you don’t even have to buy anything — you get rewarded just for walking in. You can also earn points by scanning specific items within the store (again, it doesn’t matter if you buy the item).

One downside of ShopKick is that you can’t exchange your points for cash. Nonetheless, with many good options for gift cards (such as Amazon, Walmart and Target), that shouldn’t stop you from trying it out.

Speaking of rewards, do you want to know how to maximize your credit card points and travel for free? Enter your email below to get The Ways to Wealth’s free email series: The Beginner’s Guide To Free Travel Through Credit Card Rewards

Other Highly-Rated Money Making Apps

#1) Acorns

By investing your spare change. One of Acorns’ main features is called Round Up. Here’s how it works: say you make a purchase for $17.20 (at any store). Acorns will then set aside 80 cents from your checking account and automatically invest that money into a mutual fund. It’s a way of helping you save, while also building up an investment portfolio a little bit at a time.

Through “Found Money.” Acorns has also partnered with hundreds of retailers to allow you to earn money any time you shop at a specific store. For example, say you spend $100 at Walmart. Acorns calculates a percentage of that $100 (which can be up to 10 percent for some retailers) and adds it to your investment account. This isn’t a “round up” — it’s free money.

You can build up a nice portfolio just by using Found Money and investing your spare change. Eventually, that portfolio could go toward your retirement or earn you a nice side income.

Acorns now has over 4 million users and is one of the fastest-growing financial apps around.

#4) SlideJoy

Slidejoy, available only for Android devices, is the most popular lock screen app in existence. With Slidejoy, you can earn extra money by placing an ad on your phone’s home screen. If you like what you see, you can swipe left to learn more. If not, just swipe right to open up your phone as normal. Either way, you’re earning some extra cash.

Users expect to earn about $3 to $5 per month on average, with the option to cash out via PayPal.

While not the most exciting way to earn money, over the course of a year you can save up around $50 to use as you wish.

#7) SweatCoin

SweatCoin is a passive income app that allows you to earn money by walking. To get started, you download the mobile app and provide it access to your location. SweatCoin then tracks the steps you take when you’re outside.

You can exchange SweatCoins for cash via PayPal, or they have a limited number of gift card partners to choose from.

What can you expect to make? You’ll make around 1 SweatCoin per 1,000 steps you take. 1 SweatCoin is worth approximately 5 cents, so on a day you take 5,000 steps you’ll earn 25 cents. Average 5,000 steps over a 30-day period and you can expect to make $7.50 per month.

About The Author

R.J. Weiss is the founder and editor of The Ways To Wealth, a Certified Financial Planner™, husband and father of three. He's spent the last 10+ years writing about personal finance and has been featured in Forbes, Bloomberg, MSN Money, and other publications.

Learn More

Start Reading

This site is for general education only. Information contained is of the opinion of the individual writers. As your situation is unique, seek a qualified financial adviser. This site doesn't assume any liability nor responsibility to any person or entity with respect to damage caused directly or indirectly from its content or associated media. Use at your own risk. This site may receive compensation from certain companies mentioned including ads, affiliate partnerships, and sponsored content. Rates and offers listed on this site change frequently. As such, please verify the terms of the offer(s). The Ways To Wealth LLC disclaims responsibility for updating the site as it pertains to outside services, products, and content when accessed through links and/or advertising. View our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service